5 Marketing Lessons From Beyonce's Cowboy Carter Album Release

If you have been on the internet for the last few days you have probably noticed that Beyonce dropped her latest album “Cowboy Carter” her country feast for the ears that has us ready to toss those keys up and stay a while.

If there is one thing we do at The Less Than 1% Club it’s finding the marketing in everything, so we are giving you the 5 marketing lessons that you can take away from Beyonce’s latest album release.

Lesson #1: Give em’ somethin’ to talk about.

When Beyonce released her single Texas Hold ‘Em it was met with a bit of an uproar, or you could technically say two distinct uproars. There were the people who rallied behind her, and that genre flipped for her, and then there were the haters, and they were sippin’ that hatorade HARD.

Haters were so hard-pressed about Beyonce’s multi-genre talent that they went as far as getting on the news to try and shame her. For all that effort all they did was give Beyonce more views and more air time. Therefore creating marketing lesson #1, your content isn’t for everyone, it does not need to please everyone, in fact, the more people that are interested in disagreeing with you the higher your engagement will be.

Lesson #2: It’s giving – Guerilla Marketing.

Beyonce amongst many other artists have not just given us albums, they have given us eras and it is these strong, brash, eye-catching, transitions that have left us gasping for more. If you scroll down Beyonce’s Instagram you can almost see the exact moment where she transitions from “Mrs. Carter” to “Cowboy Carter.”

She makes quite the aesthetic adjustment to truly live and breathe within this era, cowboy hats on, boots on, and even the utilization of red white, and blue our proud country’s colors are much heavier in her recent posts compared to previous ones. This brings us to marketing lesson #2, if you are releasing a new campaign, how will it stand out from your previous? How are you giving your audience the best of you, while giving them what they never would have expected? The world is currently drowning in content and with the use of AI, it is getting duller by the moment. You need to stand on that chair in the middle of the quiet room and shout.

Lesson #3: “Howdy Partner…” Bey chose the perfect collaborators.

If there is one thing any marketer understands the value of, it is partnerships and collaborations. Key partnerships with the likes of Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Miley Cyrus, Willie Jones, and others ensured that when her album was released she had the cross-promotion in exactly the right markets to break into country music on horseback while holding the American flag (left. no. crumbs.)

Bey (and her amazing team) already know the markets she clearly has under her belt, what she needed to scale at this moment was a niche intersection of the audience that loves Bey and loves country music, who better to walk her through that threshold than the amazing partnerships that were selected. This brings us to marketing lesson #3, it’s not just about the partnerships that align with you and your brand. What do you stand for? What are you trying to achieve? In the case of breaking out into a new or niche market, you’re going to need some new partners, partner.

Lesson #4: Is that a bandwagon I see? Cause brands are hoppin’.

Beyonce has given us all something to talk about, and it is her. (She is “that girl”) and if brands c an get even a small taste of that search traffic in exchange for something or someone in the media for a mostly positive reason they will. That brings us to marketing lesson #4, it’s almost as if social media was made for social issues (isn’t that crazy?) and by being a part of a larger social movement that has impacted a huge segment of many of our audiences brands were able to create additional traction from a more unlikely place.

Big logos like Popeyes, Lyft, and Verizon have all been seen adorning cowboy hats in honor of this most historic album release, and from one marketer to another, I can’t say I blame you! But you best keep that same energy when this moment is over 👀.

Lesson #5: Ima need an “Amen” for the culture.

Bringing us full circle on the power of Black culture and Black excellence, and the versatility and creativity that often comes out of the BIPOC community can I just say that nothing can stop us? If you as a BIPOC marketer, creator, professional, were questioning whether or not a certain space is for you, know that hell yeah it is. If Beyonce and this amazingly successful album release wasn’t enough of a confirmation just look at the statistics that can be pulled from the likes of Forbes and others that say that we are performing better, scaling faster, and learning more because you are here. So, lesson #5, can I get an amen? Thank you.

We hope that you have enjoyed this mighty fine marketing lesson and look forward to bringing you even more to enjoy. If you have yet to give Cowboy Carter a listen, do it! Your ears will thank you.

Until next time <1%-ers, continue to grow 1% greater each day.